Sunday’s Red Sox-Phillies matchups: Josh Beckett vs. Cliff Lee

The wild ride that has been the 2012 season continues for Josh Beckett. The Red Sox ace has been through injuries, short outings, successful starts and a sea of boos, but he looks to make it two wins in a row against Boston’s first interleague opponent, the Phillies.

Beckett recovered from his 2 1/3-inning debacle against the Indians on May 10 by throwing seven innings of four-hit ball, including a season-high nine strikeouts, against the Mariners on May 15. The righty got the win as Boston blanked the Mariners 5-0.

The two-time World Series champion’s rollercoaster season is well represented in his current numbers. Beckett is 3-4 with a 4.97 ERA. In five of his seven starts he’s finished at least six innings, but the off-day golfing controversy and the following ugly performance has consumed his season so far.

Beckett knows the Phillies quite well since his days as a member of the Marlins. He is 8-5 with a 4.18 ERA against Philadelphia but is 2-3 with a 6.52 ERA in Citizens Bank Park and has allowed seven home runs in five starts. Four Phillies have more than 30 plate appearances against Beckett, and out of those four Ty Wigginton has the best batting average at .313.

Getting a win on Sunday will be tough for Beckett, who is going up against the phenomenal Cliff Lee.

Despite having a 1.95 ERA, Lee is an unlucky 0-1 in five starts. Philadelphia has struggled to score for him, averaging 2.6 runs in support. The most notable performance of Lee’s season was against the Giants on April 18. He outdueled Matt Cain by going 10 innings without allowing a run, yet Lee still ended up receiving a no-decision as San Francisco won that game in the 11th.

In the 33-year-old southpaw’s last start, he went eight innings against the Astros, allowing only one run on five hits and striking out a season-high 10 batters. But Lee once again did not factor in the decision in the Phillies’ 4-3 win. Philadelphia is 1-4 in Lee’s starts.

Lee has 11 starts vs. the Red Sox with a 3-4 record and a 3.56 ERA. He is relatively familiar with several of the Boston players, having faced six of them more than 10 times. Adrian Gonzalez is 7-for-13 with a home run and Marlon Byrd is 6-for-18 against Lee. David Ortiz has the most plate appearances vs. the Phillies lefty with 26, but he is only 6-for-25.